TOM HATELEY grew up on the exploits of Rangers in the Champions League and now dreams of becoming the Apoel of his father’s eye on the same stage.

TOM HATELEY grew up on the exploits of Rangers in the Champions League and now dreams of becoming the Apoel of his father’s eye on the same stage.

Former Ibrox frontman Mark played some of his greatest games for the Light Blues in Europe’s elite arena and came within a whisker of the Final under Walter Smith in 1993.

His boy is now dreaming of making his own headlines among the continent’s best as Motherwell’s remarkable rise continues under Stuart McCall.

They will play in the Champions League qualifiers at the end of July, clinching third place in the SPL after runners-up Rangers were banished from Europe on the back of financial meltdown.

Coincidentally, Rangers did them a turn on Wednesday with a 5-0 thrashing of Dundee United which finally put Well out of sight as best of the rest.

Hateley, 22, is determined the Fir Park club’s adventure abroad will not last as long as your average package holiday but that’s easier said than done as likely opponents in the first instance could include PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Kiev, Braga and FC Copenhagen.

However, Hateley is taking comfort from the performances in the last 12 months of Apoel, the Cypriot champs who play in front of an average of just 9000 fans in Nicosia.

They came through three qualifying rounds last summer against Albanian, Slovakian and Polish opposition and defeated Zenit St Petersburg, Porto and Lyon before losing to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Hateley said: “You look at teams like that and you take inspiration. If we get through the qualifiers then who knows? It’s a dream to be involved in the qualifiers. We could face teams such as PSV and it’s going to be tough.

“Quite often Scottish teams have struggled and got knocked out but if we are ready for it, you never know.

“Our opponents could come back from their holidays and not be as fit or as ready. We could be sharper and better than them over a couple of games.

“Comparisons are always going to be made between me and my dad, even though we play completely different positions. He had a fantastic career and the two matches I remember most from his career are the Battle of Britain games against Leeds.

“Hopefully, I can now enjoy a good chapter in my own career.”

Well have bucked the trend of woeful Scottish performances in Europe in recent years with a credible run in the Europa League in 2010 and 2011.

They lost in the third qualifying round two years ago when Steaua Bucharest dumped them 6-1 on aggregate after wins in the earlier rounds against Llanelli andAlbanians Flamurtari Vlore.

Last year they saw off Icelandic team Breidablik in the second qualifying round and Norwegians Aalesunds in the third but lost to Danes Odense in the play-off for the group stages.

Hateley added: “Odense beat us over two legs but we could have progressed in the tie.

“We lost 2-1 in Denmark when I scored from a free-kick in the last minute. then we lost 1-0 at Fir Park but missed a penalty andhit a post. We can draw on those European experiences.”

Hateley’s old man’s former club ultimately did Well a favour with their defeat of United.

The Well squad watched on the box as Rangers crushed United but Hateley skipped the party to stick close to mum, Bev.

He added: “I was out for dinner in Glasgow celebrating mum’s 50th birthday.

“It turned out to be a great night – and the Rangers score just made it even better.

“We deserve third place for the consistency of our game.’

Hateley has not missed a match since joining Well from Reading three years ago.

He is in line for his 136th consecutive appearance when he visits Ibrox tomorrow.

He said: “I have not had an injury bad enough to keep me out and I’m lucky we have a small squad.

“As long as I’m playing welland doing enough to keep my jersey and my place in the team I am happy.”